NC State men’s soccer (7-3-1) will travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on South Carolina (5-6-1) in a nonconference matchup.
South Carolina has endured a rough stretch, only winning one match in its past six, and is 0-4-0 in its conference. NC State is coming off a tough 3-1 loss to No. 6 Wake Forest, which came down to a lapse toward the end of the game. Both teams are in need of a confidence booster for their return to conference play after this match.
The Gamecocks’ offense is led by forwards Tucker Monheimer and Brian Banahan. They are tied leading the team with nine points and four goals, with an assist each. Their offense has struggled recently, only scoring two goals in the past three games.
South Carolina’s defense has been lacking this season, which is likely attributed to its lack of experience. Its defense gives up an average of 1.58 goals per game, while its offense scores 1.17. The defense is led by goalkeeper Buenyam Yusufoglu, who actually has two assists on the season. Although its defense has been rough all season, the offense is not to be slept on.
NC State’s offense is led by junior midfielder David Loera and sophomore forward Kuda Muskwe, who each have three goals and an assist on the season. The Wolfpack has also seen significant production off the bench from senior forward Tyler Gabarra, who has a goal and four assists this season. The consistent offense averages 1.36 goals against opponents this season and has scored six goals in the past four games.
The Wolfpack defense has been exceptional this season as well, only allowing 0.91 goals per game. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Vinnie Durand has contributed significantly to its success, with 16 saves, four clean sheets and a 0.64 save percentage. The defense’s success is also attributed to the play of defenders freshman Pablo Pedregosa and juniors Jamie Smith David Norris.
The consistent and reliable NC State offense shouldn’t have a problem breaking through the struggling South Carolina defense. However, the South Carolina offense has not had problems producing this season, so the Wolfpack defense cannot be caught lacking.
The match will kick off at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Stone Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
